Simply Love
by Songbird's Spirit
Summary: Why must all love be so agitating? What happened to the days of 'I like you, you like me? Why must species make more problems? Why shouldn't a Turian and a Human be able to like one another...? Whatever the reason, I don't think think they care. Etarn X OC
1. A Day of Receiving

**Simply Love**

_Why must love happen extraordinarily?_

_Can love not be simple?_

_Must it be a perfect match?_

_Must the love be filled with problems?_

_Why can the love not have a simple balance?_

_Filled with things to work out_

_But also has things that just work_

_Love should make us laugh_

_Love should make us cry_

_Most of all Love is as simple as it is complex_

_This love is simple_

_As it started with simple words_

* * *

_'Talk about awkward…'_ Nel thought warily.

She knew about the whole 'Turians aren't fans of humans' shit but this was a bit extreme…She was trying to make a delivery for Bailey and the Turian across the counter was outright glaring at her! The rest of the employees were much the same, acting as if she were some sort of plague.

"Do you need something?" the turian hissed.

Nel took a deep breath and held out a data pad. "Bailey sent me down here to have you sign off on the inventory you ordered." She responded.

"And why couldn't Bailey come down here himself?" he asked suspiciously.

"Bailey's been swamped with work." She said blinking.

The Turians began roaring with laughter and Nel blinked before frowning with anger. The Turian smirked at her. "The human's too swamped huh?" he asked in a taunting voice.

Nel glared. "The C-Sec soldiers he works with at the front entrance were shot yesterday trying to protect someone. As thanks, Bailey and I have been doing their share of work so they don't have to come back to piles of it. So if the lot of you can't grow up and show some respect for that then sign the damn data pad so I can leave." Nel snapped.

The Turians fell eerily silent as they stared at Nel. To her credit, she didn't even flinch under their stares. She held out the data pad for the Turian to sign without a word. He signed it and Nel stormed out of the store, now in a shitty mood. Bailey warned her that the people that worked there didn't like humans…he could have said something about the extent of that dislike…

"Hey, wait!" Nel didn't stop. They probably weren't talking to her.

"HUMAN!" Now Nel stopped. Human…her?

Nel turned; the Turian behind the counter was running at her. He stopped and seemed to think about something for a moment.

"Don't clutter my workspace." He said and shoved her datapad in her hand.

The Turian left and Nel raised a brow but said nothing else. Walking through the Ward was a lot easier if you weren't human, but at least Nel had a few friends there. Bailey was one friend of course, but she did befriend a Quarian and the Presidium Groundskeeper.

Nel padded up the stairs as quickly as she could. The stairwell was more dangerous than the Dark Star Club to be honest. Nel waved to the Used Ship Dealer as she passed and the Volus waved back almost cheerfully. Nel wouldn't admit it, but she had a major soft spot for ship models. The workers there always teased her by finding ones she didn't have and putting them on display just to get her worked up because she couldn't buy them.

Sure they'd send her it after so long but it never ceased to stop annoying her while they displayed it.

"Bailey," she addressed her friend when she reached the desk.

The man grinned at her and a feeling of dread settled in her chest. "Two more packages at your desk." He snickered.

"Are you kidding me?" Nel asked, her tone an octave higher than normal. A strained smile graced her lips.

"Nope, go check." Bailey began to laugh.

Nel stuck her tongue out at Bailey before turning to leave and walking to the door. As it opened Bailey called after her.

"Have fun Nelly!" he called.

Flipping him the bird, Nel left through the door and went down the hall. "Good morning Salem." Nel said to the guard as she passed.

"Good morning Nel." He replied with a yawn.

Nel giggled softly and went through the other door. The other C-Sec officers teased her as she passed to get to her terminal and Nel rolled her eyes or growled at each of them. Nel gawked at her desk. Bailey had forgotten to mention the packages came up to her knees.

"For heaven's sake what's in them?" she murmured.

Nel walked over and palmed at the box before deciding to open them at home. "Aren't you going to open them?" Juno asked, a human officer.

Nel shook her head at the woman. "I'll open them at home." Nel smiled awkwardly.

"Does it say who they're from?" she asked.

Nel put her hands on her hips in mock annoyance. "Well aren't you nosy today." She replied.

Nonetheless, Nel looked around the box and saw there weren't even tags for delivery. "Hey, Rills," Nel called to the Turian, "Did you see who brought these up this morning?" she asked.

The Turians shook his head before going back to work. Nel sighed, it was bad enough they had anti-human politicians, but now her co-workers weren't tolerating them? This was starting to put a weird edge on her job.

* * *

**~o~ After Work ~o~**

Nel rubbed her temples wearily as she hefted the two boxes into a transit car and hopped inside. She could not wait to just sink into her couch and eat leftover Chinese food. Pressing a few buttons, she set course for her apartment. Nel leaned back in the seat trying to relax after a full day of work at the Citadel. The Turian shop suddenly crossed her mind.

The one Turian that returned her datapad…

He was being nice by returning it yet it managed to make it sound rude and like a nuisance. It was confusing…scratch that, he was confusing.

Finally her apartment came into view and Nel hopped out of the transit, making sure to grab her things, and sent the machine on its way. Nel waved to the doorman as she passed and clicked the elevator button. The lift pinged, notifying her of its acknowledgement of the request, and opened its doors. Nel pushed the button for the seventh floor and waited as the doors closed.

The elevator seemed to go slower than ever but Nel was tired. When the elevator finally stopped at her floor, she bumped straight into a familiar face.

It was the shopkeeper.

Nel felt her face take on a light blush as the two tried to maneuver around each other. Finally, the Turian gave an annoyed click and tightened his mandibles. He grabbed Nel's shoulders, turned in a circle, and pressed a button, closing the elevator in Nel's face. It was an odd exchange, but Nel wasn't about to complain.

_'I didn't know he had an apartment here…'_ Nel mused thoughtfully.

Nel keyed the door open with the pass code and let out a grateful sigh as she managed to get in the door, let her things drop on the counter, close the door, and slump against the low cabinets. Nel was utterly exhausted and she imagined Bailey was too. They were both sharing a doubled load of work so she wasn't surprised she felt so tired.

Suddenly her stomach growled.

She sighed when she remembered a little tidbit about the Citadel. She had been reaching for the phone to call in an order but the thing about the Citadel was…well…they didn't deliver food like humans did. Businesses on the Citadel had a harder time delivering due to the sheer size of the Citadel. There weren't enough people, if any, who knew where everything was to deliver food. That and the sheer size of the place presented another problem.

It would make sense for a business to expand, but human government was nothing compared to the Citadel. Most places didn't bother trying to expand due to the complexity of the forms and the lack of efficiency the people supposed to be signing those papers had.

Nel yawned and hauled herself to her feet to make her way over to the fridge. She smiled when she spotted pizza in the freezer and decided that was more appetizing than leftover Chinese ramen. Taking the pizza from its packaging Nel popped it in the oven as it preheated and set the timer to twelve minutes cook time.

Satisfied by her handiwork, Nel activated the vid screen.

"Tele-Visio, turn on." Nel said aloud.

The smaller, portable TV in her kitchen clicked on and Nel grabbed the remote to channel surf. Most of it was boring celebrity news or some retelling or twisted version of old news. Nel sighed and clicked on something she always liked to re-watch…

Brain Games

The games were fun and, well, mind blowing. Nel enjoyed the animation they showed to make it simple. It made her feel smart. Nel finally remembered the packages from earlier that day.

She retrieved them from the dining room table and went into the living room to open them. Carefully shaking them near her ear, Nel cautiously peeled the tape off by hand and flipped open the lids.

She was shocked…

"No…freaking way…" She lifted the gift from the box.

* * *

**So that's the first chapter. Please tell me what you thought of it. I'll have the second chapter up and running soon. I've got two other Mass Effect stories if you want to read them. See you next chapter…well I hope so at least.**

**Songbird 0.o**


	2. Errands

**Simply Love II**

_How far would you go to show her she's the one?_

_How far would you go to show him he mattered?_

_Does Love have a price?_

_I know Love has a soul_

_For Love is a fragile being_

_For Love has many emotions_

_For Love is easily surprised_

**~o~**

Nel cradled the gift in her hands as she tried to find a nice place to display it. She was glad she had gotten to the precinct early, so no one was around to see her scurry around her terminal.

"What are you doing Nel?" Bailey's voice came from behind her.

_Scratch that_

"Ahh!" Nel yelped and spun around quickly.

Bailey gave her a small confused stare before eyeing her arms. "What's that behind your back?" he asked suspiciously.

"Umm…the new Geth Myriad Cruiser…" she said with a high voice.

Bailey grinned teasingly at the girl and she groaned. "It was the gift!" she moaned and threw her hands in the air.

"I don't know who got them for me; I don't even know who sent them." Nel said next, "I wish I did know though."

"Why?" Bailey asked.

Nel gave him a gaping look. "Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how much this had to have cost? The Geth Myriad Cruiser replica isn't even on the market yet, making it incredibly valuable. I mean, whoever got has to be-."

"Rich," Bailey asked with a glare.

Nel shook her head. "No, I was going to say special." Nelly palmed at the replica, "I've never had anyone do this for me. It takes someone special…different to do something like this."

Bailey gave a small smile and handed her a stack of papers to distribute to the workers. "Maxton and Lars are still recovering, so another workload today."

Nel nodded and got to work.

Bailey's smile grew wider. He believed Nel, she wasn't after rich people.

She wanted to find a good husband…Like her mother had.

**~o~**

"Do you know her?" The Turian pointed to Nellvania through the window.

"Yeah, that's Nelly. She works a terminal for C-Sec." his friend replied as he sipped a Turian-style fountain soda.

The Turian rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know what her job is. I meant do you know anything about her." He specified.

His friend gave him a look. "And why do you want to know Etarn?"

"Does it matter _Farrow_?" Etarn hissed with annoyance.

"Sheesh, I'm sorry," Farrow put his hands up defensively and tightened his mandibles, "I didn't know you had a thing for humans."

"I don't," Etarn said sharply with a quick tense of his jaw, "I was just curious."

Farrow shrugged and eyed the front door. "We could always ask Stewart…or Salem." He suggested.

"…Fine." Etarn grumbled.

**~o~ Two Hours Later ~o~**

Nel yawned and twisted, popping her back. She looked up and smiled at the Geth Myriad Cruiser that sat on her cleared shelf. She sighed and tapped a few keys and jumped as a call came on the line. She quirked and eyebrow, as she wasn't usually handling calls, but put her headset on nonetheless, adjusted her headpiece, and answered the call.

"You've reached C-Sec, Nellvania speaking." She answered.

"You're welcome." The voice, distinctly male, answered her.

Then the line went dead. Nel stared at her terminal as it went back to normal and slowly took off her headset. What had that been all about?

**~o~ **

"So Salem, know anything about that Nelly girl?" Farrow asked bluntly.

Salem gave his co-workers an odd look. "Uh yeah, she a nice girl…why are you asking?" Salem blinked curiously.

"Etarn's got a human fetish." Farrow sighed.

"I _do __**not**_." Etarn snapped.

"Hey Sa-." A female voice began.

The three Turians turned and saw the woman, Nel. "Well…Hi." she nodded shyly.

"Hi, I'm Farrow." The dark brown turian grinned and put out his hand.

"I'm Nel, nice to meet you." She smiled and shook his hand.

There was a bit of silence before Nel turned to the other Turian. "Hello," she smiled at the brown turian.

Nel notice that while Farrow looked a lot like Nihlus or Sparatus, his friend was still a dark brown but it was more dirt colored than dark chocolate. Farrow's friend was dirt brown with dark tan clan marks. It was an odd clan mark though. They were rounded instead of sharp.

The turian grunted before taking her outstretched hand and shaking it gently, "I'm Etarn." He grumbled before taking his hand away quickly.

"Nel," she replied.

Another awkward silence followed. "I'll, uh, come back later." Nel said quietly and went back through the door.

Once it closed both Turians turned to Etarn. "You like her." Salem said nonchalantly.

"No…I don't." Etarn growled.

"You can't hide your sub-harmonics." Farrow laughed.

Etarn groaned and silently cursed his bad luck. He'd never been very good at balancing his words and keeping his harmonics in check. "So I think she's interesting, big deal." Etarn grouched, "Laugh it up."

Farrow chuckled but Salem just smiled. "It's not a bad thing Etarn. Nel is a sweet person. Well…she can be…" He mused.

"What?" he questioned.

"Hmm, ah, she's crabby when she gets stressed. She's just got the swing to back up her harsh words, unlike most." Salem chuckled.

"What is she like?" Etarn asked after a minute.

"She's nice, tolerant, sometimes she's really energetic." Salem sighed and stopped. "Look, this is weird. If you want to know so bad then talk to her…"

"No, I don't think so." With that, Etarn left.

As the doors closed behind him, Farrow and Salem shared a look. "He's so stubborn." Salem sighed.

"Trust me; I know…I work with him." Farrow laughed.

**~o~ Two Days Later ~o~**

I stretched as I came into work, dressed casually today in jeans for once. Bailey laughed when he saw me as I strolled in wearing dark boot-cut jeans, a sweatshirt, sneakers, and a dopey grin. The man stood and walked over.

"What are you doing Nel?" he chuckled.

"It's cold, and my moderator broke on my uniform…so I improvised." I replied.

"You still need a C-Sec insignia though." Bailey reminded me.

I smirked and turned around, pointing to the C-Sec insignia I had stitched into my hoodie. That made Bailey laugh a little louder. "My god woman, you are something else." Bailey snorted and dismissed me.

I got weird looks but most just smiled and shook their heads at me. I was a little odd sometimes. And those who didn't know me, probably just dismissed it as a human thing. I felt like it was going to be a good day today.

"Nel," Salem poked his head in the door.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Maxton and Lars are back. They want to see you downstairs." He told me.

"Alright, thank you." I smiled.

Salem left and I headed out, letting Bailey know where I was going, and went for the club downstairs. Maxton and Lars usually worked down near the club if they weren't at their terminals.

Maxton was a big guy, even for a turian. He was a tan color with subtle clan markings so similar in color one really had to look to see them. And that was kind of weird, and could get you in trouble if you were human. He was a little Anti-Human, but it waned if you worked with him.

The man also had kids, daughters in fact, with human friends. And just like human dads, it's hard to say no when daddy's perfect little angel wants her human friend to come over and play.

So he got a little better with each day. Just don't piss him off.

Lars was pretty different. He liked humans well enough. But mostly, one could say it was because he was a social butterfly. He loved to talk, to everyone. He was like a big brother to a lot of people. He was always going around and striking up random conversations with people. The first time I met him, he was a little high on human sugar and jumped on my back…probably looking for a piggy-back ride.

He did that to Maxton sometimes, he could go from adult mature to five-year-old 'mature' in seconds. It was funny to watch the two of them.

Anyway, when Lars came to he was a little embarrassed and apologized for jumping on me. He gets annoyed when people bring it up, mostly because he's a little embarrassed about that and some of the other crap he did.

I finally managed to navigate my way to the club where Maxton waver me over.

"Hey you two," I smiled.

"Little sister," Lars exclaimed and dashed over, "Oh how I _love_ you so!" he crowed dramatically.

I squeaked and then laughed as the energetic turian literally swept me off my feet and carried me over to where Maxton was.

Said turian was currently shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the two of us.

"You two are idiots." Maxton sighed with a small smile.

"Good to see you too, Max." I smiled slightly.

"Thank you oh dearest one for relieving us of our anticipated burden. You are truly an angel!" Lars declared as he went to his knees.

I stared at Lars. This was a little weird, even for him. I turned to Maxton. "Is he high on sugar again?" I asked.

"No, he's just being himself." Maxton sighed and nudged his partner with his foot, knocking Lars over. Lars gave an alarmed squawk as he went down.

"What my pyjack-brained partner is trying to say-."

"Hey!"

"Is that we are grateful for you and Bailey. We both were dreading the paperwork and extra shifts when we came back, only to find out you and he had covered them for us and completed our forms. Thank you, we're grateful." Maxton said with a small twitch of a smile.

"His wife also wants to thank you. His wittle angels get to have friends over tomorrow because their daddy doesn't have to work late." Lars snickered at the growl he received from Max, "But seriously, thanks for the help. It was nice of you and Bailey."

I laughed softly at him. "I'm glad you're happy. It'd suck to come back to work…I mean you were gone for about five days." I replied.

"You're right it would suck. Anyway, what're you do- Oh, hey Etarn." Lars' voice went quiet.

_'That name sounds pretty familiar.'_ I thought.

Turning, I remembered who it was that had that name. "Oh, hello again." I said.

Then my mouth snapped shut as Lars pushed me behind him and Maxton put his hands on my shoulders with a firm but tolerable grip.

Lars and Etarn seemed to have a staring match for a second before Lars spoke up in Turian language. "Do you need something?" he growled.

My Omni-tool silently informed me that Etarn was indicating anger, or jealousy.

…

My god, if Lars hit on this guy's wife I'm not helping him this time.

It had happened before, just with a different guy.

"Did Lars hit on his wife?" I asked Maxton quietly.

"Who…Etarn? Hell no, he isn't even married." Max replied in an even quieter tone.

"Oh, I wonder why." I mused.

"I don't know," Max paused, "But if I had to guess it'd be because he's a mean _sonovabitch_." Maxton said.

"He doesn't seem that bad." I said.

"That was my guess Nel; I don't know the guy personally. That's just what I'd say based off what I've seen or heard of him."

"He is a bitch though." Lars grumbled.

Apparently something had gone down and we'd missed it. Etarn was gone, but Lars only seemed to be in a bad mood now. There weren't any injuries that I could see.

"I don't know Lars…" I mumbled.

"Let's go Nel."

"Lars…"

"We're going Nel."

What the hell had just happened?

**~o~**

**So that's chapter two. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. If you liked it, tell me what you thought. Reviews = Love for author**

**Or faster updates…**

**Chow**

**Songbird 0.o **


	3. Shot Down

**Simply Love III**

_Love wishes nothing ill upon most of its partakers_

_However some force ill upon themselves_

_It takes understanding to heal it_

_It only takes a moment to destroy everything_

_Love wishes to belong in you_

_But first you must accept the first step cannot be skipped_

_You must let them know you care for them_

* * *

**~o~ Nel ~o~**

I'd like to say the walk back from the outside of the club had been uneventful and only filled with a stern lecture from Lars on the million different reasons why he considered Etarn to be a bitch. Well, that's what I'd like to say happened.

Lars walked me back out of fear that Etarn was hanging around. Why Etarn was such a threat was beyond me. But Etarn wasn't the threat. And there had been a threat waiting for us.

Somehow the Blue Suns had managed to infiltrate the Zakera Ward; I assumed it was because there was a rather open base in part of the ward where C-Sec officers were. However, there were about sixteen of them and two of us. I had an office job in C-Sec, for the most part, and didn't have a gun. Even as others filed in to keep them away I found myself dodging bullets without as much experience as I thought I could muster.

I could claim guilty when it came to not keeping up to date on my strength. I still managed to knock one out with a potted plant while he was distracted with Lars and Max. The loud volume of it was my downfall though. Another one noticed me, and shot me in the abdomen. I yelped out in pain as another shot got me in the shoulder on my way to the floor.

I laid there, kind of dazed. I had been on an adrenaline rush. Now that I was on the floor, unmoving, the rush of blood was fading. The pain was crisp and sharp, and the world was becoming more and more noticeable. Right then I decided I really liked the world when it was out of focus.

I barely registered someone yell my name.

I also just barely picked up someone lifting me off the ground and beginning to run.

* * *

**~o~ 3 Days Later ~o~**

I woke up to arguing; loud arguing. "Shut the fuck up…" I mumbled under my breath and turned to lie on my side. As I did so I made out Lars's voice.

"That's not a good idea Nel!" Lars warned.

I registered a sharp pain in my side and whimpered in pain. "Oh, ow…" I muttered.

There were more words, agitated this time, and then silence as gentle hands turned me back onto my back. I sighed gratefully before passing out again.

* * *

**~o~ One Day Later ~o~**

The next time I woke up only Lars was in the room. "Hey…" I mumbled.

The Turian jumped up and was immediately by my bedside. He brushed some hair from my face. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Not all that great…I'm starving actually…" I mumbled the last part.

Lars laughed at me and hesitated for a moment before pitching forward and pressing a small kiss to my forehead. I chuckled a little at that and then gave him a smile.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"We were all worried." Lars replied.

"We?" I asked.

"Everyone Nel, Bailey, me, Max, Salem, everyone…" Lars said.

"So," I coughed and tried to sit up, "Who carried me here." I asked after Lars helped me sit up.

Lars scowled and leaned away. "It's not important." He muttered.

"The hell Lars." I snapped and crossed my arms angrily.

"Hey now," Lars tried to calm me down.

I smacked his hands away and turned my head to the door. "Why does it matter?" Lars asked.

"Forget it Lars." I grumbled, now in a bad mood.

Lars sighed. "Look, I'm sorry…" He tried.

"Please stop talking," I sighed, "I don't want to talk."

"Fine then, whatever…" the turian grunted and sat back silently.

It was silent, awkwardly so for a while. Then Lars stood and spoke as he walked across the room to leave. "It was Etarn." He growled and walked out of the room.

_'Etarn…he saved me?'_ I mused somewhat shocked.

A moment later, the door gently clicked and was slowly pushed open. To my amusement, it was none other than Etarn himself that seemed to hesitantly poke his head through the doorway.

Speak of the devil…huh.

"Hi," I gave the Turian a small smile.

"Uh, hi…" he cleared his throat, his mandibles writhed for a second, "Are you up to um…are you…are you tired?" he cringed at the stutters he made.

"No…" I let him off easy and patted the chair by the bed, "If you want to talk I can manage." I offered to the anxious Turian.

He looked relieved for a moment before he hurried over and sat down in the chair. "Well, um…how are you feeling?" he asked awkwardly.

"Better than I was," I replied, "I believe I have you to thank for it too."

His mandibles twitched with…embarrassment…maybe? "Who told you?" He demanded.

"Hey," I put my hand over his and he stiffened, "Please don't get upset. I'm grateful to you."

He gingerly pulled his hand away and placed it in his lap. That was a small blow to my mood but I brushed it off. "I know," Etarn nodded, "But who told you?"

I sighed. "It was Lars. He seemed kind of upset when he was with me earlier."

"It's unlike him to yell at his mate from what I've heard." Etarn muttered.

I blinked at him. "What?"

"You and him," he clarified, "You are mated."

I blushed scarlet. "Uh…no. I've never thought of him like that. We are definitely not mates…!" I shook my head.

Etarn stopped my head with his large hands. "Why did he claim it then?" Etarn demanded softly.

"I don't know. I've never…we've never been together." I sighed, "Look, he's a nice guy. But he's not the one I'd want to spend my life with."

"Why?"

I gave him an irritated look. "Why all the questions?" I growled.

The turian sighed. "My apologies," he murmured and brushed my hair from my face.

I fought back a flush before musing over what he had just said. "Wait…when the hell did he claim we were mates?!" I exclaimed.

"He did just a day or so ago when you were still asleep." Etarn replied.

"Well…whatever, he's got it all wrong." I sighed.

Etarn let out a small rumble from somewhere around his chest area before humming thoughtfully. "In any case, we're all glad you are okay."

"Ah, yes…thanks again for saving me. But I have to ask-." I trailed off.

"Hmm?" he prompted.

"Why did you do it? I mean…I don't know you all that well and…" I tried not to babble.

He let out another hum, effectively silencing me. "You…interest me. I couldn't let you bleed to death."

A beep came from his Omni-tool and he sighed. "Sorry, I have to go."

"Oh, uh, bye," I nodded.

He nodded back and left the room. I sighed and lay back on the bed. This was getting a little…complicated.


	4. Visits

**Simply Love IV**

_Words will be scrambled_

_And hearts will run and tumble about_

_But love will guide just like it will stray_

_Lay your hope in love_

_It likes to play_

_But it will not leave to crude a mess behind_

_Trust me, it takes some time_

**~o~ Nel ~o~**

It was about a day later but the doctors released me from the hospital and Bailey agreed that a two day break would suffice for healing my injuries. I was grateful for any leave time I was given.

However, I had forgotten Etarn also had an apartment in the same building.

***Ding*Ding***

I jumped a little and grumbled from my snuggly nest of blankets on the couch. I yawned and dragged my body off the sofa, ambling over to the door. I stood up, balancing on the balls of my feet, and peeked through the peephole.

It was Etarn…

_'Right…he lives here too.'_ I recalled running into him on the elevator.

I undid the locks and opened the door. He stopped fidgeting but still wouldn't look me in the eye. After a few more moments of awkward silence, I spoke up first.

"Hey Etarn," I said slowly, "What brings you here?"

"Oh, um," he stammered, "I came by to see how you were healing up. You look...you look like you've been healing up nicely."

"Thank you," I nodded, "Uh, do you want to come in?"

He looked surprised. "Oh, you don't have to." He shook his head.

"Oh c'mon, I got some dextro-sweets yesterday." I encouraged with a grin.

He seemed to contemplate my offer, "Oh, alright then…I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Awesome," I smiled and sidestepped to let him in. "Sorry, it's a bit messy. I haven't moved around much lately." I laughed a tad bitterly.

"S'alright, my roommate isn't much better." he hummed.

"Roommate?" I asked.

"What?" he asked as he looked around the room.

"I didn't…you…you don't strike me as the roommate type." I admitted.

"It's temporary, mostly just convenient for paying rent." He explained and then went quiet.

I lumbered around and smiled, "The Maelstrom," I said pointing to the mini-ship he'd been staring at, "My brother is actually quiet the artist…he made me the replica."

"I've never heard of it." he said bluntly.

"I'm not surprised," I said not offended in the slightest, "It's just a small human-manned mining cruiser," I explained, "He couldn't really send me a picture because he knows that would be meaningless."

"Why would a simple photo be meaningless?" Etarn asked with a slightly judgmental look as I moved to get some of the sweets I'd mentioned earlier.

"Well," I thought for a moment, "Call me old fashioned…but I'm the kind of person who'd rather read the actual book with the cover and pages than read it on a digital screen. It's more…satisfying to hold the real thing I guess."

"Oh, my mother was like that." He hummed thoughtfully and accepted the can of treats.

"Why do you even have dextro-sweets?" he asked.

"I have dextro friends." I said, "They like to eat…well Ilex does…"

"Who's Ilex?" Etarn asked having never heard of him.

"He's the archivist," I motioned for him to follow me to the deck. "See the archives over there," I said pointing to the building, "He works with the old Turian records. He always forgets to eat."

"Do you like him?" Etarn asked.

"Does it matter?" I raised an eyebrow.

**~o~ Etarn ~o~**

I felt a small rush of jealousy when she began pointing out where her turian friend, Ilex, worked. The girl had an alarming amount of turian acquaintances.

"Do you like him?" I asked when she stopped talking.

"Does it matter?" she replied and raised an eyebrow.

I felt panic come in a matter of seconds. I knew my sub-vocals were keening in alarm like the traitors they were and I couldn't have been more grateful for the fact that humans couldn't hear them.

"I…I don't-." I stammered.

Nelly suddenly laughed and shook her head, "Sorry," she snorted, "I can't help it. But no, the guy is actually interested in a Quarian and I've been trying to get them together for what seems like ages now." She said, seemingly uninterested in her earlier reaction.

"Hey," I said after a moment, "Can I ask you a question."

She tilted her head questioningly but nodded, "Sure, go ahead."

"Do you have human friends?" I asked.

I was a little surprised when Nelly started laughing uncontrollably.

"Sorry," she breathed between her laughs when they began to quiet down, "So sorry about that. But yeah, I've got human friends."

"You don't talk about them much." I pointed out.

"Well, we haven't been together for a long while." She said and sighed, "I'm on the Citadel, Miriam and Charlie are on _another _exploring expedition, Tracy stayed on Earth, while Ginny, Kylie, and Oliver all joined the army and are deployed at the moment." She paused.

None of this was familiar and most of the names passed right over my head but I listened regardless. "Why the sudden interest? You never seemed too worried about me all the other times I've talked to you. I mean, if you're trying to win a bet just say it. It wouldn't be the first time." she said with a blank expression...

Almost like she was expecting it.

"Wait, what?" I sputtered.

"I kind of assumed you were one of those anti-human Turians," Nel scratched her neck awkwardly, "So I guess I was wrong?"

I grunted and stood up straight, "No, that's not it. I suppose I'm not a fan of your species but I don't hate all of you...most of the time."

"So, it's a selective sort of thing?" she asked.

I stared at her, "What?"

She looked kind of embarrassed, "I admit to this, I'm kind of selective around people. I'm kind of mistrustful…until I meet you and get the chance to get to know you." She sighed, "But it's worse around other species."

"That's...not what I was getting at."

"Oh…"

We fell into silence, "So…um," she yawned, "Not to be rude, but really, _why_ the sudden interest. It seems uncharacteristic to be completely honest."

I clenched my jaw and worked my mandibles. "My apologies," I grunted, "I didn't know it annoyed you."

"It doesn't," She said, "It's just different. Most of the times I've been sick I know the people that check up on me." She explained.

"I know you." I said defensively.

"You know what I mean." She replied raising an eyebrow.

I supposed I did, but I did want to know this human a little better for whatever reason. "I was close by and wondering how you were." I offered.

"Oh," she smiled, "Alright then…"

"Mmm…" I hummed.

Once again there was silence. "You're a lot more open right now than you usually are," Nel stated, "I kind of like it."

"What's your point?" I replied, wincing slightly at my harshness.

She seemed to ignore it, "Hmm, oh, no reason. Want to stay for dinner?"


End file.
